Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the potential economic effects of employees who have accrued large amounts of holiday while furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme utilising that entitlement immediately on the lifting of covid-19 lockdown measures.

Paul Scully: Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks annual leave, which should be paid as if workers were still at work and working. Annual leave continues to accrue as long as the worker maintains their employment relationship with their employer, which is the case whilst an employee is on a period of furlough through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Workers on furlough are able to take annual leave, and employers are able to require them to do so. This will prevent large build-ups that would need to be used at the end of the lockdown measures. The Government has been clear that employment rights remain unchanged under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Therefore, as holiday rights are unaffected by the scheme, no assessment has been made.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Hospital Beds

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional critical care beds have been made available since the outbreak of covid-19.

Edward Argar: Holding answer received on 19 March 2020



It is the Government’s priority that the National Health Service has appropriate equipment to respond to Covid-19, this includes the provision of intensive care beds. The Department are working closely with the NHS England and the Devolved Administrations to ensure this.NHS England routinely publishes information on Critical Care Bed Capacity which can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/critical-care-capacity/.However, in response to Covid-19, some data collections have been suspended, which includes the one relating to Critical Care Bed Capacity. Further details can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/covid-19-and-the-production-of-statistics/.

Ventilators: Worcestershire

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ventilators are available in Worcestershire; and when more ventilators will be delivered.

Edward Argar: At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in March there were more than 8,000 mechanical ventilators in hospitals across the United Kingdom. As of 27 May, we have around 14,000 mechanical ventilators available to National Health Service patients. In addition, there are also 10,344 non-invasive ventilators available to the NHS across the UK which were not available before the start of the crisis in mid-March plus a further 73 from the private healthcare sector.Mechanical ventilators are allocated pro rata between England and the devolved administrations, but then within each nation decisions of where to send ventilators are based on clinical need. In England hospitals can make a bid for ventilators and these are discussed and allocated with regional NHS England and NHS Improvement teams. Two of the new mechanical ventilators have been sent to Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Cancer: Radiotherapy

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that radiotherapy services used in cancer treatment continue during the covid-19 outbreak.

Jo Churchill: A letter was issued to trusts on 29 April detailing the Second Phase of Response to COVID-19. This letter sets out that:Local systems and Cancer Alliances must continue to identify ring-fenced diagnostic and surgical capacity for cancer, and providers must protect and deliver cancer surgery and cancer treatment by ensuring that cancer surgery hubs are fully operational. Full use should be made of the available contracted independent sector hospital and diagnostic capacity locally and regionally. Regional cancer Senior Responsible Officers must now provide assurance that these arrangements are in place everywhere.Treatment, including radiotherapy, must be brought back to pre-pandemic levels at the earliest opportunity to minimise potential harm, and to reduce the scale of the post-pandemic surge in demand.

Hospices: Protective Clothing

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that hospices have a reliable supply of personal protective equipment.

Helen Whately: The Department recognises the vital services that hospices provide, and are aware of issues they have been facing in obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE). The Department is working on putting a sustainable solution in place to ensure continuity of supply for the hospice sector, which has recently stepped up to take the pressure off the National Health Service as part of a £200 million funding arrangement announced by the Chancellor on 8 April.To address continuity of supply concerns, central delivery points provided by hospices to the Department will get weekly drops of PPE until they can be added to the PPE e-commerce ordering portal. The Department will continue to work with the hospice sector to ensure they have the support they need during this challenging period.The Department holds regular calls at Ministerial level with representatives of the hospice sector to better understand the specific issues facing the sector in delivering palliative and end of life care, including PPE supply, during this challenging period.

Surgery

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the restoration of planned surgery will be accompanied by (a) an assessment of and (b) investment in the staffing and resources required to deliver that surgery safely, efficiently and sustainably.

Edward Argar: National Health Service local systems and organisations have been asked to work with regional colleagues to step up non-COVID-19 urgent services as soon as possible. This needs to be a safe restart with full attention to infection prevention and control as the guiding principle.In addition, service providers have been asked to work across local systems and with regional teams to begin to reset routine non-urgent elective care. These plans factor in the availability of staff, associated medicines, personal protective equipment, blood, consumables, equipment and other needed supplies.

NHSX: Computer Software

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHSx will develop the functionality of the NHS covid-19 contact tracing app to allow users to order the deletion of the information they have submitted to the database, once the app itself is no longer required to tackle covid-19.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



App users can delete the National Health Service COVID-19 app whenever they want. If users delete the app, all data stored on the phone and not already shared with the NHS would be deleted. If users do not opt to share their data, it will automatically be deleted on a continuous 28-day cycle within the app, on the phone.Data shared with the NHS, either proactively or as part of requesting a test, may be retained in accordance with necessary legislation, and may be used in the future for research in the public interest, or by the NHS for planning and delivering services, subject to the necessary approvals required by law.

Business Premises: Air Conditioning

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that employers take into account the recommendations of the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers on increasing the air supply rate of air conditioning systems to reduce the circulation of germs; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The Government has worked with a wide range of businesses, unions and representative organisations to produce guidance on safe return to work, as well as Public Health England (PHE) and the Health and Safety Executive. The guidance to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely during the COVID-19 pandemic can be viewed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19Regarding ventilation and air conditioning, PHE supports guidance from The Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning Associations (REHVA) on changing ventilation practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission which is available at the following link:https://www.rehva.eu/activities/covid-19-guidanceChartered Institution of Building Services Engineers is a United Kingdom member of REHVA and their advice is in line with REHVA guidance.

Dental Services: Coronavirus

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when dentists will be able to resume normal practice in England after the covid-19 lockdown.

Jo Churchill: Routine dentistry has been suspended during the peak of the pandemic period with urgent face to face care concentrated on urgent dental care centres both to support social distancing measures and maximise safety for patients. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to ensure appropriate services are in place for all who need them. All National Health Service dental practices are expected to provide urgent advice over the phone and, if needed, prescriptions for painkillers or antibiotics. Practices, or NHS 111 if the patient is unable to contact a practice, will triage patients and if needed refer to one of the urgent dental centres set up so far by NHS England and NHS Improvement.As of 20 May there are 528 NHS urgent dental centres across England providing urgent dental care and treatment to patients.NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer are looking urgently, in collaboration with the dental sector, at how soon wider NHS dental services can safely reopen.  NHS England will publish further guidance once decisions on the recovery of dental services have been finalised.

Department of Health and Social Care: Chief Scientific Advisers

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser (a) from 1 September to 30 November 2019 and (b) from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020.

Edward Argar: The Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department had two meetings with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care between 1 September to 30 November 2019, and 17 meetings between 1 December 2019 and 29 February 2020.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to increase the number of GPs per 1,000 people in line with levels in other European countries.

Jo Churchill: The Department does not make recommendations for how many patients a general practitioner (GP) should have as the demand each patient places on their GP is different and can be affected by various factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is also important to consider GPs as part of the wider multidisciplinary team as getting the skills mix right in general practice is critical in addressing workload pressures and delivering appropriate patient care.As part of the 2020/21 GP Contract, the Government and NHS England have committed at least an additional £1.5 billion in cash terms for general practice over the next four years for additional staff. This is in addition to the £4.5 billion real terms annual increase announced for primary and community care in the NHS Long Term Plan by 2023/24.We have committed to growing the workforce by 6,000 more doctors in general practice and 26,000 more primary care professionals, such as physiotherapists and pharmacists. Growing the workforce will mean larger teams of staff providing a wider range of care options for patients and will free up more time for doctors to focus on those with more complex needs. This, alongside increasing the use of technology in general practice, will create an extra 50 million appointments a year by 2024/25 and improve access to primary care services.

Department for Education

Schools: Bromsgrove

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he is putting in place for three-tier school systems in Bromsgrove district as part of the phased wider opening of educational and childcare settings.

Nick Gibb: From the week commencing 1 June, at the earliest, the Department will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority groups. We will only do this provided that the five key tests set by the Government justify the changes at the time.We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn. We know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers. The safety of children and staff is our utmost priority.The Department’s guidance for schools and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/actions-for-education-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020.The three year groups within mainstream primary have been prioritised because they are key transition years. Year 6 children are finishing Key Stage 2 and preparing for the transition to secondary school and, in many cases, the secondary curriculum and will benefit immensely from time with their friends and teachers to ensure they are ready. The Department expects all mainstream schools to follow the same approach and are asking middle schools to do the same and welcome back children in Year 6 to ensure a consistent approach across England.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has put in place to ensure social distancing is enforced on school buses to ensure safe travel when schools return during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: Parents and children should consider walking and cycling to school where possible, or driving if necessary. They should avoid the use of public transport where possible. The Department for Transport has published guidance on safer travel for the public. It is available here: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers. Parents and children may wish to refer to this when planning their journeys, and to help them minimise risk where the use of public transport is unavoidable. Some children have their home to school transport arranged by their local authority or school. Local authorities and schools should put in place arrangements which fit local circumstances and minimise the risk of transmission, as far as is possible. This should include making sure transport providers follow hygiene rules. They may wish to refer to the Department for Transport’s guidance for transport operators here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-transport-guidance-for-operators.In addition, the phased wider opening of schools will limit the number of children travelling on home to school transport in the initial phase. Where transport capacity allows, local authorities could consider substituting smaller vehicles with larger ones, or running two vehicles rather than one, to reduce the number of passengers per vehicle and help passengers keep their distance.We are in contact with local authorities to help resolve issues as they arise.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he take steps to ensure that all (a) announcements and (b) guidance on reopening schools during the covid-19 outbreak are made in good time to give headteachers adequate notice to implement that guidance.

Nick Gibb: From the week commencing 1 June, at the earliest, the Department will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority groups. We will only do this provided that the five key tests set by the Government justify the changes at the time.The Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy on 11 May, which confirmed that schools should prepare to begin to open for more children from 1 June – giving schools a three week notice period. On the same day, the Department for Education published guidance for schools to support planning for 1 June, including guidance on implementing protective measures.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with headteachers on plans to safely reopen schools during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The Department is currently working closely with the sector to determine the best way for schools to open for more pupils, in line with the five key tests set out by the Government. There continues to be extensive engagement with headteacher unions at both a ministerial and official level, as well as engagement with the Department for Education’s headteacher reference groups at an official level.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what scientific advice his Department received on the viability of reopening schools during the covid-19 outbreak on 1 June 2020.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what scientific advice his Department received on reopening schools on 1 June 2020 for (a) nursery, (b) reception, (c) Year 1 and (d) Year 6 pupils during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and its sub-group the Children’s Task and Finish Working Group have provided scientific health advice to the Government. This advice has been used, alongside other sources of information, to inform decision making on potential schools re-opening options.The list of papers to be released to date are available by following the link below, including several schools-related papers. This list will be updated to reflect papers considered at future meetings:https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-responseThe Government has also made clear that schools will only be opened more widely when the five key tests set by Government justify the changes at the time, including that the rate of infection is decreasing.The Department has also engaged with Public Health England to devise a ‘hierarchy of controls’ which, when implemented, will create an inherently safer system where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons the decision was made to reopen schools on 1 June 2002 to (a) nursery, (b) reception, (c) Year 1 and (d) Year 6 pupils ahead of other age groups during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: From the week commencing 1 June, at the earliest, the Department will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority groups. We will only do this provided that the five key tests set by the Government justify the changes at the time.The Department will prioritise younger children in the first phases of wider opening, for several reasons. Firstly, there is moderately high scientific confidence in evidence suggesting younger children are less likely to become unwell if infected with COVID-19. Secondly, evidence shows the particularly detrimental impact which time spent out of education can have upon them. In addition, older children are more likely to have higher numbers of contacts outside of school so pose a greater transmission risk, and they are typically better able to learn at home.The three year groups within mainstream primary have been prioritised because they are key transition years. Children in Reception and Year 1 are at the very beginning of their school career and are mastering the essential basics, including counting and the fundamentals of reading and writing, and learning to socialise with their peers. We know that attending early education lays the foundation for a child's education and supports children’s social and emotional development. Year 6 children are finishing Key Stage 2 and are preparing for the transition to secondary school, and will benefit immensely from time with their friends and teachers to ensure they are ready.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support is available to school staff to ensure their safety when schools reopen on 1 June 2020 during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: We want to get children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to be educated and learn. We will only do this provided that the five key tests set by Government justify the changes at the time.Children, young people and teachers’ safety is our top priority. This is why we are taking a phased approach to opening for more children, to limit the risk of increasing the rate of transmission. We have also issued guidance to childcare settings, schools and colleges on the protective measures they should put in place to reduce risk further:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings.These include children and young people staying within their new, smaller, classes wherever possible and limiting contact between different groups. We have also set out a range of additional protective measures including frequent cleaning, encouraging good hand and respiratory hygiene, reducing ‘pinch points’ (such as parents dropping children off at the start and end of the day), and using outdoor space. To enable schools to welcome a wider group of children and young people from 1 June, they will have access to testing if they display symptoms, as will any symptomatic members of their household. A negative test will enable children to get back to childcare or education, and their parents to get back to work. A positive test will ensure rapid action to protect their classmates and staff in their setting.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department plans to make available to schools struggling to implement social distancing due to a lack of space within school buildings when those schools reopen during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The safety of pupils and staff returning to school is key. We know that, unlike older children and adults, early years and primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff. In deciding to bring more children back to early years and schools, we are taking this into account. Protective measures are possible which, when implemented, substantially reduce the risk of transmission of infection. Schools should therefore work through the hierarchy of protective measures:avoiding contact with anyone with symptomsfrequent hand cleaning and good respiratory hygiene practicesregular cleaning of settingsminimising contact and mixingIt is still important to reduce contact between people as much as possible, and we can achieve that and reduce transmission risk by ensuring children, young people and staff, where possible, only mix in a small, consistent group and that small group stays away from other people and groups. Public Health England is clear that if early years settings, schools and colleges do this, and crucially if they are also applying regular hand cleaning, hygiene and cleaning measures and handling potential cases of the virus as per the advice, then the risk of transmission will be lowered. Where settings are able to keep children and young people in those small groups 2 metres away from each other, they should do so.Each setting’s circumstances will be slightly different. Any setting that cannot achieve these small groups at any point should discuss options with their local authority or trust. This might be because there are not enough classrooms or spaces available in the setting. Solutions might involve children attending a nearby school, or schools prioritising the younger age groups of newly eligible children. We have published guidance on implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings to support settings to get this right, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that families feel confident to return their children to school when schools reopen during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The Government wants to get all children back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we know it is good for children’s mental wellbeing to have social interactions with other children, carers and teachers. From the week commencing 1 June 2020 at the earliest, the Department will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority groups. The Department has provided information and guidance for parents and carers about the wider opening of nurseries, schools and colleges from 1 June. The guidance includes information about the latest scientific advice and the protective measures that schools can implement to minimise risk. It also includes information on what will happen if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a school. The guidance is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/reopening-schools-and-other-educational-settings-from-1-june.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of parents who (a) will, (b) will not and (c) do not know whether they will send children back to school when schools reopen during the covid-19 outbreak on 1 June 2020.

Nick Gibb: From the week commencing 1 June 2020 at the earliest, the Department will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority groups.Children and young people in eligible year groups are strongly encouraged to attend (where there are no shielding concerns for the child or their household), so that they can gain the educational and wellbeing benefits of attending. From 1 June, schools should resume taking their attendance register and continue to complete the online educational setting status form to provide daily updates on how many children are in school.Parents will not be fined for non-attendance at this time, and schools will not be held to account for attendance levels.

Schools: Coronavirus

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his steps his Department is taking to support school staff and teachers to manage the reopening of schools on 1 June 2020 during the covid-19 outbreak alongside the continued need for online teaching and virtual learning for children who do not attend.

Nick Gibb: From the week commencing 1 June, at the earliest, we will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups. We will only do this provided that the five key tests set by the Government justify the changes at the time. We are asking school to plan on this basis, ahead of confirmation that these tests are met.The Department has already published a range of guidance for settings on GOV.UK to help them prepare. The main guidance to help settings prepare for wider opening is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/actions-for-education-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020.The Department has also published a planning guide for primary schools which includes a section on what to teach, and how: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools#planning-what-to-teach-and-how.A guide for secondary school provision has been published: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-secondary-schools.Teachers will continue to be able to access support to deliver remote teaching to year groups not eligible to be in school at this time. Schools are encouraged to consider how Oak National Academy or other remote education platforms can provide additional support, as well as how education delivered in school, if manageable, could be made available to pupils learning remotely. The Department has provided a range of information, guidance and support on GOV.UK for teachers and leaders on educating children during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Schools: Coronavirus

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what scientific research his Department has commissioned to help assess the potential merits of providing (a) teachers and (b) other school staff with personal protective equipment during the covid-19 outbreak.

Nick Gibb: The Department has worked closely with Public Health England (PHE) and stakeholders on our approach and guidance throughout the Department’s COVID-19 response. In particular, the Department worked with PHE to devise a hierarchy of controls for all education settings which, when implemented, will create an inherently safer system where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. These include measures such as ensuring that anyone with symptoms does not attend their education settings, cleaning hands regularly, good respiratory hygiene, regular cleaning of touched surfaces, minimising contact and mixing and, where needed, use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Our guidance sets out clearly the limited circumstances in which PPE is required in educational settings, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe.

Schools: Attendance

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether attendance will be compulsory for pupils who are eligible to return to school from 1 June 2020.

Nick Gibb: From the week commencing 1 June 2020, at the earliest, we will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups. We will only do this provided that the five key tests set by government justify the changes at the time.Eligible children – including priority groups - are strongly encouraged to attend their education setting, unless they are self-isolating or they are clinically vulnerable. Parents will not be fined for non-attendance at this time and schools and colleges will not be held to account for attendance levels.

Schools: Coronavirus

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to meet the National Education Union to discuss proposals on reopening schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department is currently working closely with the sector to determine the best way for schools to open for more pupils, in line with the five key tests set out by the Government. There continues to be extensive engagement with teaching unions, including the National Education Union (NEU), and other school stakeholder organisations at both an official and ministerial level, including a weekly meeting involving my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and NEU officials.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Asylum

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support the Government is providing to local authorities that are responsible for resettling the highest number of asylum seekers relative to other local authorities.

Luke Hall: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



The Home Office is working on an agreed change plan in partnership with Local Authority Chief Executives through the Home Office Local Government Chief Executive Group. The plan seeks to achieve a more equitable dispersal of asylum seekers across the UK and seeks to overcome barriers to ensure availability of service provision.The plan has been paused in light of the current COVID-19 crisis but will resume once restrictions on accommodation moves have been lifted.

Department for Work and Pensions

Health and Safety Executive

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional (a) staffing and (b) funding has been allocated to the Health and Safety Executive to increase capacity for the inspection of premises to ensure safe working during the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies: Holding answer received on 11 May 2020



As part of a recent announcement, the government has made available up to an extra £14 million for the HSE, equivalent to an increase of 10% of their budget, for extra call centre employees, inspectors and equipment if needed. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-guidance-launched-to-help-get-brits-safely-back-to-work

Jobseeker's Allowance: Coronavirus

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending contribution-based Job Seeker's Allowance from six months to (a) nine months and (b) twelve months as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



Entitlement to contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) is limited to a maximum of 182 days in any one jobseeking period. This is an absolute limit, provided for in primary legislation (section 5 of the Jobseekers Act 1995) and there are no plans to amend the primary legislation. Universal credit, for those people who meet or continue to meet the conditions of entitlement, is available throughout any period of entitlement to contribution-based JSA.

Health and Safety Executive: Recruitment

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many additional call centre staff and inspectors the Health and Safety Executive plans to recruit using the additional £14 million of funding announced by the Government.

Mims Davies: An additional sum of up to £14 million has been made available to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to support their advice and regulatory activities, such as extra call centre employees, inspectors and equipment. HSE is currently developing plans as more businesses return to work, it has already begun carrying out proactive checks to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect workers from COVID-19.

Department for Work and Pensions: Interserve

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether cleaners employed by Interserve working in her Department’s premises (a) have access to personal protective equipment, (b) are classed as key workers, and (c) are eligible for covid-19 testing.

Mims Davies: Holding answer received on 18 May 2020



All Interserve cleaners have been provided and continue to be re-supplied with the appropriate PPE to carry out the cleaning tasks in accordance with our Company COVID-19 PPE risk assessment and specific DWP Task Risk Assessments which both comply with all published Government guidelines and advice. Appropriate PPE in the form of protective gloves is being provided to all cleaning staff. The cleaners are classed as Key Workers and each have been provided with written correspondence to confirm this status. The cleaners and their household members are eligible for COVID-19 testing subject to showing symptoms in accordance with our Company testing programme, or they may apply through the Government route themselves.

Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

Mr Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has she made of the potential merits of removing the benefits cap for the duration of the covid-19 outbreak.

Mims Davies: There are currently no plans to change the Benefit Cap. The Benefit Cap ensures fairness between those receiving out-of-work benefits and taxpayers.

Home Office

UK Border Force and UK Visas and Immigration: Coronavirus

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) UK Border Force and (b) UK Visas and Immigration staff have (i) had to self-isolate due to presenting symptoms and (ii) have tested positive for covid-19 in each week since 1 January 2020.

Chris Philp: The attached table shows at column C the number of Border Force and UK Visas and Immigration employees who have been recorded as beginning a period of sickness absence due to COVID-19 symptoms.Column D shows the number of employees recorded as beginning a period of isolation at home on paid special leave either because a member of their household has COVID-19 symptoms or because the employee themselves is vulnerable / extremely vulnerable to infection.We do not hold data centrally on those employees who have mild symptoms and are well enough to continue to work from home, or who are isolating at home but are able to work from home and therefore do not need to take paid special leave.We do not hold data centrally on the outcomes of COVID-19 testing of our employees.



Table - PQ 41464
(Excel SpreadSheet, 15.6 KB)

Home Office: Chief Scientific Advisers

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings she had with her Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser (a) from 1 September to 30 November 2019 and (b) from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020.

Victoria Atkins: Ministers meet with Professor John Aston, the Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser, as necessary during the process of policy development and delivery. During the periods in question, I met with him on numerous occasions.

Cabinet Office

Internet: Disinformation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2020 to Question 1979, how much funding from the public purse has been provided to initiatives such as Don’t Feed The Beat that seek to reduce misinformation online in the last two years.

Chloe Smith: This Government has invested £1.68m in communications initiatives to counter disinformation since March 2018. These initiatives include the RESIST toolkit which helps public organisations respond to disinformation campaigns, and the 'Don’t Feed the Beast' behaviour change campaign to educate and empower those who see, inadvertently share and are affected by false and misleading information.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Stella Creasy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish an Equality Impact Assessment of the Government’s plans for easing the covid-19 lockdown.

Penny Mordaunt: The government has assessed the equalities impacts of the social distancing policy on different groups of people, including those with protected characteristics and has engaged individuals, expert groups, charities and other organisations in the policy development process. This is a key part of the decision making process and the government has discharged its obligations under the Equality Act at each stage of its COVID-19 response.We are aware of the disproportionate impacts of the policy on some groups. For example, we acknowledge that the order to stay at home can cause anxiety for those who are experiencing or feel at risk of domestic abuse and we’ve seen a rise in calls to the national abuse helpline. That is why the Home Secretary introduced a package of measures to support such victims, including an additional £2m of funding for domestic abuse helplines and online services as well as the ‘#YouAreNotAlone’ communications campaign to reassure victims that support services remain available.The Government has also recognised that some individuals with learning disabilities or autism have specific exercise requirements that are important to their health and has clarified that such groups are allowed to continue to exercise outdoors more than once a day. It is recognised that the policy will continue to have a disproportionate impact on many disabled individuals.There is evidence of a disproportionate impact on many other sectors of society. The Government is keeping this under review and will introduce mitigation measures wherever possible and appropriate. However, the overall assessment concluded that the measures the Government has taken have been proportionate to the risks of the coronavirus outbreak.In line with the practice of successive administrations, the Government does not routinely publish equality impact assessments.

Cabinet Office: Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Greg Clark: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings he had with the the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser (a) from 1 September to 30 November 2019 and (b) from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020.

Penny Mordaunt: The Cabinet Office draws from a range of scientific advice and expertise, including from the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, the Chief Scientific Advisers in individual Government Departments, and academics and researchers. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Charities: Coronavirus

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to establish an online Coronavirus charity support finder to signpost Government financial support that is available.

Mr John Whittingdale: The £750 million funding package announced by the Government on 8 April is to ensure charities providing frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic can continue their vital work. £360m is being distributed via individual government departments based on evidence of service need. Up to £200m of this will directly support hospices and be administered by the Department of Health and Social Care. Departments are using a range of approaches to allocating funding in order to meet identified needs quickly, including bidding processes and awarding funding directly. Applications are now open for funding for the distribution of food to vulnerable people, safe accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse, armed services charities, and charities working to tackle loneliness and homelessness. Further information has been released on gov.uk. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will publish an online resource signposting charities to these funding opportunities available for applications through government departments. We expect this resource to be published shortly.

Theatre: Coronavirus

Nickie Aiken: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support his Department is providing to the commercial theatre sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

Caroline Dinenage: In order to support the sustainability of the Arts sector, including commercial theatre, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector. £90 million is being made available to National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) and Creative People and Places (CPPs) lead organisations. £50 million is being made available to organisations that are not in receipt of regular funding from the Arts Council in order to maintain their survival through this crisis. Finally £20 million of financial support is being made available to individuals, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to consider the additional measures that are needed to ensure the long-term recovery and growth of the cultural sector. The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Arts sector extensively to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sector. DCMS is engaging with other departments to support the economic response, by ensuring that the needs of its sectors, and those who work in them, are understood. DCMS will continue to work with this valuable sector to understand the difficulties it faces and help it access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Chief Scientific Advisers

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser (i) from 1 September to 30 November 2019 and (ii) from 1 December 2019 to 29 February 2020.

Mr John Whittingdale: DCMS draws from a range of scientific advice and expertise, including from the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, the Chief Scientific Advisers in individual Government Departments, and academics and researchers. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Arts: Coronavirus

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) the creative industries and (b) workers in those industries during the covid-19 outbreak.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government recognises the important role creative industries play in the UK by providing access to entertainment, culture and news during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure we are assisting the sectors as effectively as possible, regular ministerially-chaired roundtables are held with business representative organisations (BROs) as well as trade associations within the creative industries. In addition, officials are in regular contact with stakeholders from all sectors. To further support businesses and workers in the creative industries the Government has launched a number of schemes. For example, the Chancellor announced £330bn of guaranteed loans (equivalent to 15% of GDP) for supporting businesses to access finance. This support is delivered through two main schemes: the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Coronavirus Corporate Financing Facility. More recently, the Government launched the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, which helps small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover during the coronavirus outbreak. For workers in the creative industries, the Government has sought to protect millions of jobs by introducing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This has now been extended to the end of October, with new flexibility being introduced from August to get employees back to work and boost the economy. For those who are self-employed, the coronavirus self-employment income support scheme can provide grants, worth 80% of trading profits/partnership trading profits, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. Alongside these support measures, we continue to speak with HM Treasury colleagues to ensure that the full spectrum of government support reaches the UK's world-leading creative industries.